The Phantom in Narnia
by Kaya Rogers
Summary: Samantha, Jake, and the Phantom are brought to Narnia by Aslan to help the Kings and Queens of the Golden Age defeat an evil force.
1. Chapter 1

Samantha Forster sat with her back against the sun warmed rock wall that surrounded her stallion's secret valley. Breathing in the scents of early autumn and horses, she closed her eyes, relishing this moment she had in her favourite place on earth. She couldn't believe it had been almost a year ago she had found out that the valley actually belonged to her family's River Bend Ranch, meaning the wild horses that lived here did too. Sam sighed and drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Soft footsteps walked before her, making Sam's eyes snap open. She gasped and scrambled to her feet at what she saw before her. Tawny gold with a massive, yet almost gentle, head surrounded by fiery mane, a lion stood towering as tall as a horse.

Sam screamed, but then clapped a hand over her mouth, unable to draw a full breath of air. She had to be seeing things. Here she was in rural Northern Nevada, a ranch girl who had never been farther East than New Mexico, and never, in all of her 16 years of life, had Samantha Forster seen a real lion, not even in a zoo.

Jacob Ely was galloping his night black horse, Witch across the Nevada desert when he heard a scream. He knew that voice as well as his own. _Sam. _The two had grown up together, their ranches being so close together and Jake had never known anyone who could get themselves in more trouble than Sam did when wild horses were involved in the situation.

Jake wheeled Witch towards the direction of his friend's voice, and leaned low on his horse's neck, letting her run over the sagebrush dotted plain. A minute later he knew exactly where he was heading. He was the only other person in the world besides Sam who knew where Sam's long-lost stallion's secret hideaway was.

_Damn horse, _Jake thought, remembering years ago when the stallion had almost killed Sam on Jake's watch. He wasn't about to let it happen again.


	2. Chapter 2

_Sam _

"I must be dreaming," Sam whispered, looking around herself. The Phantom grazed quietly with his herd, seeming oblivious to the huge golden intruder Sam saw before her eyes.

"No my dear, you are indeed wide-awake," a deep voice seemed to rumble around the valley walls, warm and kind, but with a hint of gentle authority. Sam gasped and pressed against the rocky wall, her breath caught in her throat and wishing she didn't feel so alone and vulnerable.

"Zanzibar." She managed to croak out the stallion's secret name, calling him to her. The Phantom nickered before trotting over to Sam, hardly batting an eye at the Lion. Somehow having the silver horse's warm hide next to her made Sam relax. A little.

"Who _are_ you?" she stared at the Lion, wondering if maybe she was going crazy after all.

"They call me Aslan," the warm and gentle voice came again and this time Sam knew where it was coming from. The Lion. He spoke.

"You, you _talk_!" Sam gasped, looking at the Lion, Aslan he said his name was. His eyes were such dark pools of wisdom and knowing that they looked almost more than human, and they were fixed on Sam so intently, Sam could've sworn Aslan was reading into her soul. He nodded an affirmative answer to her question, amusement in his expression.

The Phantom stepped forward, Sam's hand sliding from his shoulder to his side, and extended his face to Aslan's, nickering a welcome Sam had only ever heard used with his mares and occasionally to her. Then he turned his nose to Sam, his eyes calm and welcoming as if to say, _see? It's okay, I know him. _

Sam smiled. If her wild horse trusted this… Lion, then she could too. She looked at Aslan again.

"So, um, Aslan," she began, trying to think of something to say that her Gram wouldn't classify as _rude. _But then again, she's bet everything she owed that Gram had never conversed with a living, breathing, speaking, lion.

"What is on your mind, Daughter of Eve?" Aslan asked, raising his shaggy head. _Daughter of Eve. _That sounded cool, in an old fashioned sort of way.

"I was just, uh, wondering," Sam paused looking for words, "What are you doing here, in Nevada, in the Phantom's valley?"

"I came for you." Aslan's words were simple, but they sent tiny shivers all over Sam. "Now, come, we have far to go and not long to get there."

_Jake_

Jake reached the entrance to the hidden valley and slowed Witch; not wanting to barge in and cause even more trouble than he thought Sam had already gotten herself into. Ducking his head to avoid hitting the ceiling, Jake and Witch started down the short dark tunnel. Reaching the end, the young cowboy swung off his horse and began to quietly look around the valley.

The Phantom's herd grazed near the clear mountain stream and Jake's eyes flicked over them, making sure they were all present and accounted for. Two blood bays, a paint and a few roans, a little bay with a freeze brand. Jake froze. _Ace. Sam's horse. What the heck was he doing here? _His tack lay near a tree, leaning neatly, looking like Sam had set it there carefully. And then Jake noticed another thing. The Phantom was nowhere to be seen.

"Samantha Anne!" Jake yelled. Wherever that wild mustang had run off to Jake knew Sam was with him, probably on him, and they had to be found. _Tryin' to give me a darn heart attack, _Jake grumbled in his head. He began to study the ground, looking for tracks or clues to his friend's whereabouts.

The grass was dry in the but it seemed to spring back up seconds after it was trod on, making tracking near impossible, even for Jake. He made it halfway around the valley before he found his first clue. There, in the wet dirt by the steam, were Sam's boot prints accompanied by four large hoof-prints, too big to belong to a mare or little Ace. Jake sucked in a breath. So Sam was indeed with her Phantom. Eyes to the dirt, Jake continued to look for tracks. He didn't have to look for long.

A paw print, far larger than any Jake had ever seen, was pressed into the stream-bank. It was way to big to belong to a dog and nearly three times larger than the paw of a mountain lion. When compared to the Phantom's hoof-prints, it was nearly twice the size. Jake was past worried now; he was downright terrified over what had happened to Sam.


	3. Chapter 3

_Sam _

"Where are we going?" Sam asked Aslan without moving a step closer as the Phantom had.

"Narnia." Aslan spoke the name in an even lower voice, making Sam shiver and smile._ Narnia. _It sounded like magic and adventure had been sewn into the word with crystal thread.

"Narnia." Sam whispered to the Phantom, who blew through his lips as if the name affected him the same way.

Aslan seemed to smile at the wonder in Sam's voice before he said, "Jump on Zanzibar and we'll be on our way."

Sam froze. She was the only one who knew her horse's secret name that she'd given to him as a colt. Or so she thought.

Aslan chuckled. "I think I know more of you than you do of me," he said, turning to walk towards the little stream and waterfall that fed it.

The girl watched in awe as Aslan padded straight through the falling water in a single step. And he was gone. Sam should've been able to see the glowing coat behind the waterfall; after all there wasn't that much water falling from the cliff, but he had vanished.

The Phantom nickered after Aslan and flipped his neck at Sam, growing impatient, wanting to follow the golden lion.

"Okay, boy," Sam tingled with excitement, "Let's go." She vaulted onto the Phantom's bare silver back and before she could really think through what she was doing, Sam leaned low on a sparkling white mane and the Phantom bolted after Aslan.

_Jake_

Carefully, Jake studied the prints around the stream. The massive paw prints looked as if whatever made them had walked into the water and disappeared since there was nothing but sheer rock wall on the other side.

The Phantom's prints vanished just as suddenly as the paws, only it looked as if the horse had made a flying leap straight into the waterfall. _ Weird. _Jake stood puzzling for a few minutes before he made a decision.

_The walls could be hollow. Maybe there's another way out. _ And so, Jake Ely, his long Shoshone black hair swinging under his Stetson, walked into the cold stream towards the waterfall of a secret valley.

He stood before it and suddenly, for reasons he could never really put his finger on, Jake stepped through the waterfall and into and entirely different world.


End file.
